The44th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, August 30, 1992. The ceremony was broadcast onFox from thePasadena Civic Auditorium inPasadena, California.^[1] It was hosted byTim Allen,Kirstie Alley andDennis Miller, and directed byWalter C. Miller.^[2] Presenters includedRoseanne Barr,Tom Arnold,Scott Bakula,Candice Bergen,Corbin Bernsen,Beau Bridges,Lloyd Bridges, andCindy Crawford.^[2] The program was written byBuddy Sheffield andBruce Vilanch.^[3] Over 300 million people watched the ceremony in 30 countries. 27 awards were presented.

A rule change, instituted for this year only, stated that regular and guest performers would compete in the same category. There could be lead guest or supporting guest. This rule allowed Hollywood stalwarts such asKirk Douglas, who appeared in one episode of the anthology seriesTales from the Crypt, andChristopher Lloyd, who guest-starred onRoad to Avonlea, to be nominated for the leading actor award (and, in Lloyd's case, to win). However, the rule also meant that, for instance,Harrison Page got nominated as a lead onQuantum Leap alongsideScott Bakula, even though Page appeared in a supporting role in one episode while Bakula starred in every installment, andShirley Knight got nominated for one episode ofLaw & Order while the regular cast didn't receive any nominations. The rule was reverted the following year.

On the comedy side,Murphy Brown wonOutstanding Comedy Series for the second time, winning three major awards on the night, the most for a comedy series. On the drama side,L.A. Law's strangle hold onOutstanding Drama Series came to an end, asNorthern Exposure took home the award.Northern Exposure also won three major awards and received nine major nominations, which tied for the most in each category. For the first time in its run,The Golden Girls, then in its seventh and final season, was not nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series.

For the first time, theLead Actor, Drama award went outside theBig Four television networks to acable network show:Christopher Lloyd inRoad to Avonlea, from theDisney Channel.

After being on the air for thirty years,The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson finally heard its name called when its final season won forOutstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Program. The show was first nominated for the category in1964 and was 0/13 before this ceremony.

As of the 2021 Emmy ceremony, this was the last year where the Big Four broadcast networks received all the nominations in both the Comedy and Drama Series categories.

^[4]

Notes

• Emmys.com list of 1992 Nominees & Winners
• 44th Primetime Emmy Awards atIMDb

• Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies
• 1992 television awards
• 1992 in California
• August 1992 in the United States
• Organized events in Pasadena, California
• 20th century in Pasadena, California
• Television shows directed by Walter C. Miller

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata